WASHINGTON STATE (0-1) vs MONTANA (2-0)
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22 at 7 PM PET // 10 PM ET
PULLMAN, Wash. at LOWER SOCCER FIELD
LIVE ON ESPN+ // WSU.STATBROADCAST.COM
KICKOFF NOTES
The West Coast Conference welcomed WSU as an affiliate member in women’s soccer for the 2024 soccer season, alongside Oregon State University.
In the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Cougars were selected to finish second, behind nationally-ranked No. 22 Santa Clara, with a pair of first-place votes.
Two Cougars earned WCC preseason honors with senior forward Grayson Lynch and sophomore midfielder Reagan Kotschau named to the WCC Preseason Team.
Head Coach Todd Shulenberger enters his 10th season at the helm of the Cougar soccer program with a 98-55-23 record. With the kickoff of the 2024 season, Shulenberger became the longest tenured head coach in WSU soccer history.
Wazzu and Montana have met 23 times previously. The Cougars’ home opener against Montana marks the first meeting since WSU defeated the Griz 3-0 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament First Round.
Against the Big Sky Conference, the Cougs hold a 51-7-3 record with the majority of the matches (23) against Montana.
Cougar soccer was named No. 21 on SoccerWire.com’s list of the Top 50 most successful women’s soccer programs in the country over the last five years out of 348 Division-I women’s soccer programs.
In 35 home openers the Cougs are 22-8-5 and 11-3-2 in season openers at home.
The Cougs’ nonconference slate features a tough selection of road matches at Big Ten’s Purdue, SEC’s Georgia, and ACC’s Stanford before a stout WCC schedule.
Four Cougs made their debuts in the season opener at Purdue, August 15. Transfers Julianna Duckett and Maggie Mace made their Wazzu debuts in the starting lineup. Ashly Berge made her Cougar debut as a substitute in the 31st minute and true freshman Kendall Campbell entered as a first-half sub.
Jenna Studer and Grayson Lynch returned from injury after 12 months away from the pitch. Studer returned for a full 90 shift in West Lafayette, 361 days removed from a season-ending injury at Texas A&M, Aug. 20, 2023. Lynch started up front for the first time in 357 days, having suffered an ACL injury in the win at Portland last August.
Six transfers arrived in Pullman to reload the Cougar roster, including three graduate students, one fifth-year senior, one true senior, and one junior.
Five freshmen…
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